The American Loggers Council, the largest national timber industry association in the U.S., has entered into a historic Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU) with the U.S. Forest Service. The MOU formalizes future collaboration and recognizes areas of mutual benefit.
The MOU highlights the vital role and services the timber industry has in supporting the Forest Service objectives of managing the national forests along with the role that the Forest Service has in supporting America’s timber industry.
“America’s loggers are the ‘boots on the ground’ providing essential wood products while helping to protect and restore our forests to their fullest potential,” said Mike Albrecht, president of the ALC. “We cannot do our job without a strong working relationship with the U.S. Forest Service. This memorandum will serve to strengthen that relationship as we focus on our common goals of healthy forests coupled with a healthy timber industry.”
“Loggers are on the front line every day, contributing directly to the health of the nation’s forests,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “This memorandum builds on our partnership with loggers to improve the health of the nation’s forests.”
The American Loggers Council and the Forest Service have a history of collaboration and cooperation in areas of mutual interest and benefit. The MOU formally recognizes a commitment to working together to sustain critical infrastructure and the forests.
Feds Plan 21 Wildfire Projects for $100 Million
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Biden administration is investing $100 million in 21 new projects to expand work on the U.S. Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy to reduce the threat of wildfire in high-risk areas across the country.
The new projects span 14 states and 18 national forests and are part of the $3.2 billion investment in this comprehensive strategy under the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They include three projects in California, three in
Oregon, and one in Washington
“The challenging wildfires of this year have underscored the urgent need to continue to protect our communities and infrastructure by restoring forest health across the country,” said Vilsack. “We have already made incredible progress, but there is still much to be done.”
The Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program uses hazardous fuels funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to treat additional areas of high wildfire risk where national forests and grasslands meet homes and communities, known as the Wildland-Urban Interface. The program allows national forests, in collaboration with Tribes, communities and partners in qualifying states to build local capacity for projects to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health.
The Forest Service launched the Wildfire Crisis Strategy in 2022 with the goal of safeguarding communities by increasing hazardous fuels treatments to reduce wildfire risk. This work includes the treatment of more than 1.5 million acres.
Oregon Panel Bails Out Agency for Record Fires
The Oregon Department of Forestry is getting help from the state’s general fund to pay its bills after a record wildfire season.
The Legislative Emergency Board voted to send $47.5 million to the forestry department to help cover the costs of the 2024 wildfire season. Spending on wildfires so far this year has topped nearly $250 million, about 2.5 times the amount budgeted for the forestry department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office for wildfire response.
There have been more than 2,000 fires this year that have scorched nearly 2 million acres – a record in the state and more than three times the 10-year average for acres burned.
Gov. Tina Kotek has invoked the Conflagration Act 17 times this year – a new record. The previous record was in 2020 when then-Gov. Kate Brown invoked the act 16 times. The act unleashes resources to fight blazes that threaten lives, communities or key infrastructure.
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Editor: Tim Cox, tim@forestnet.com
Contributing Editors: Dawn Killough, Mary Bullwinkel, Sydney Gleason
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About half of the $47.5 million was previously earmarked for a potentially expensive wildfire season, while $20 million was appropriated as emergency funding by the board, made up of 10 representatives and 10 senators.
Property in Montana at High Risk of Wildfire
In a recent study of properties at risk for wildfire, Montana has the second highest percentage of at-risk properties with more than half of the structures in the state possibly vulnerable to wildfire.
The study was published by researchers at LendingTree, a national company that specializes in home mortgages and also studies issues related to housing.
According to the study, wildfires nationally have increased by 17 percent year over year. Furthermore, Montana is one of the Western states that hasn’t adopted a collection of building codes for areas where housing touches wilderness. The area is often referred to as the wildland-urban interface — and Montana has a lot of both
wildland and properties that touch those areas.
Only Wyoming has more buildings at risk of wildfire with 54 percent compared to Montana at 51 percent.
In terms of sheer property value, California is at risk for nearly $1.4 billion in losses it estimates. Florida comes in a distant second at No. 2, with $269.3 million.
Court Clears Way For 3 Oregon Projects
The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) announced a significant legal victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concerning three critical forest management projects — Baby Bear, Bear Wallow, and South Warner—on the Fremont-Winema National Forest in Oregon
The Ninth Circuit upheld the U.S. Forest Service’s use of the timber stand and/or wildlife habitat categorical exclusion (CE-6) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), rejecting the claims made by Oregon Wild and WildEarth Guardians that CE-6 has an implied acreage limitation.
The plaintiffs challenged the projects, which cover a total area ranging from 3,000 to 16,000 acres of commercial thinning, on the grounds that the Forest Service had misused CE-6. They argued that the categorical exclusion should not apply to “large-scale” projects like these.
However, the Ninth Circuit affirmed that the Forest Service appropriately applied CE-6 to improve forest stand conditions and wildlife habitat, in compliance with both federal law and NEPA regulations.
The AFRC participated in the litigation as amicus, both at the district court and appellate levels.
Canada to Challenge U.S. Softwood Duties
Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion for International Trade and Economic Development, announced that Canada will challenge the final results of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fifth Canadian softwood lumber reviews.
Canada has taken the necessary steps to begin two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to increase softwood lumber duties, she said. One challenge contests U.S. anti-dumping duties and the other contests U.S. countervailing duties.
The U.S. “further increased the unfair and unjust duties on Canadian softwood lumber, hurting Canadian industry and jobs and increasing housing costs in both countries,” she said.
Washington Panel OKs Parcels for Trust Lands
The Washington State Board of Natural Resources approved a priority list of eight parcels for legislative funding to conserve via the Trust Land Transfer program.
The Department of Natural Resources will submit the ranked list of properties, which come from five different counties across the state, to the Office of Financial Management and the Governor’s Office as part of agency funding requests for the next legislative session.
The 12,299 acres of land are proposed to be transferred to Tribes and public agencies, including DNR’s Natural Areas Program and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The transfers must be funded by the Legislature before they can be completed.
If funded by the Legislature, DNR will transfer these lands to public agencies for
conservation or recreation purposes and then replace them with lands better suited to generate money to support school construction and local governments.
This is the first time that the Trust Land Transfer tool is being used since the Legislature codified it during the 2023 session.
Industry Group Opposes Old-Growth Amendment
The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) submitted comments to the U.S. Forest Service highlighting how the proposed National Old-Growth Amendment undermines the agency’s ability to address the primary threats to old-growth forests, including severe wildfires that have already devastated nearly 700,000 acres of oldgrowth forests on federal lands over the past two decades.
The nationwide proposal to simultaneously amend 128 Forest Plans will add more regulatory burdens to the federal government’s broken system of land management, where it often takes years for agencies to develop and implement projects that reduce severe fire risks, according to the AFRC.
The Forest Service is “doubling down on its current, failing management paradigm by adding layers of process, bureaucracy, and conflict,” said AFRC president Travis Joseph.
A threat assessment developed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management highlighted that over 70 percent of mature and old-growth forests are at high risk of wildfire-caused mortality.
AFRC proposed that the Forest Service work to identify and remove existing barriers that prevent active forest management, delay on-the-ground action, and ultimately enable anti-forestry litigation.
Fewer Forest Fires, But More Acres Burn
U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said that while fewer fires have taken place this year, more acres have burned.
Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the numbers have almost reached record highs.
“We have seen approximately 6.9 million acres burned nationally,” said Rippey. “There was a big chunk of that that occurred across the southern Great Plains back in late
winter, but much of the more recent activity has been in the Western United States.”
That total far exceeds the 10-year average for Jan. 1 through Sept. 10 of just under 5.5 million acres, he noted. It has “certainly has been a much more active and aboveaverage wildfire season,” he added.
Russian Plywood Surges into American Markets
As American sawmills in the West close their doors, Russian plywood imports are surging into U.S. markets. According to Wood Central, Russian plywood imports have jumped 53 percent in recent months.
While the U.S. struggles with a national wildfire and smoke crisis, Russia has become one of the primary suppliers of so-called ‘Blood Timber.’
This influx of Russian timber is occurring despite sanctions on many Russian exports due to the Ukraine war. Environmental and trade experts warn that American reliance on Russian timber may inadvertently support Russia’s ongoing conflict.
New Roseburg Sawmill Ramps Up
Comact Turn-Key Project Producing Southern Yellow Pine in North Carolina
By Tim Cox, Editor
WELDON, North
Carolina
– Roseburg Forest Products has begun bringing its new pine lumber mill in Eastern North Carolina online. The new mill, which began operating as Roanoke Valley Lumber in February, is ramping up a second shift and will add a third in the future. It represents a capital investment of $200 million for land, construction, and equipment.
The mill is located in the small town of Weldon, which has access to the I-95 corridor and is situated in a region with abundant forest resources and other nearby woods products businesses, including two paper mills and other lumber mills.
The 175-acres site in years past had been used for a coal-fired power plant. Roseburg announced plans for the mill in the summer of 2021 and began doing site preparation
After debarking pine logs are cut to length on Comact four-saw merchandising system equipped with 72-inch circular saws
work. The company demolished some remaining infrastructure and cleaned up the site. It held a groundbreaking ceremony in the spring of 2022 to mark the start of construction.
Prior to taking on the development and start-up of the new mill, plant manager Adam Reed, 34, was operations manager for the company’s mill in Roseburg, Oregon. Reed, who holds an operations management degree from Oregon Institute of Technology, has worked for Roseburg – headquartered in Springfield, Oregon – for about 10 years.
Reed was involved in the “tail end” of the company’s decision to site the Southern Yellow Pine mill in Weldon. The company’s decision process focused quickly on Weldon in 2017, and it began buying stumpage and timberland in the region, in both North Carolina and Virginia. Now it owns nearly 200,000 acres of timberland in the region, making it the largest private timberland owner in the Roanoke Valley region.
Roseburg is interested in business opportunities where it can produce wood products with vertically integrated operations, noted Reed, and already has two other manufacturing facilities in the Southeast U.S. – in South Carolina and Arkansas.
There were a “couple of factors” in the company’s decision to choose Weldon to site a mill, noted Reed. One was the opportunity to expand the Roseburg footprint in a vertically integrated manner. Another leading factor was the people of the region, said Reed, the quality of the workforce. “We had to have the best people,” said Reed. “We had the best opportunity to hire them here.”
The new mill, which began operating in February, currently is producing about 2.5 million board feet per week. At the time of the visit by TimberWest, it was ramping up a second shift that was expected to bring production to 5 million board feet. A third shift, envisioned operating in late 2025 or early 2026, would push production
to 6 million board feet. The mill operates Monday-Thursday and is shut down Friday and the weekend for maintenance.
The mill employs about 140 workers –Rose likes to refer to its staff as team members. The third shift, when operating, will require about 20-30 more workers. The staff includes foresters.
Canadian-based Comact did the entire project, including design, construction of the mill buildings, and equipping the complex. Comact has been a leading original equipment manufacturer of wood processing machines as well as digital technologies, cutting solutions, project services, and aftermarket support for more than 100 years. (See related article on page 11.)
Adam was involved with other Roseburg management in selecting Comact for the project. Roseburg considered other partners
(continued on
(continued from page 9)
for the project and also has its own internal engineering group. However, the company wanted a ‘turn key’ solution, said Reed. Comact offered the solution “and had done it elsewhere,” he said. “For us, it made the decision pretty easy.” Comact and its subsidiaries supplied all the equipment, from log infeed to finished product, including scanners and optimization.
The start-up process has “gone very well,” said Reed. “We’ve been very happy with the way it’s gone.”
The biggest challenge with the start-up process had nothing to do with machine centers or equipment, noted Reed. It’s been the soft lumber market. “We’re constantly working through procurement of raw materials to processing wood and pushing into a market that’s not taking a lot right now,” he said. “I give a lot of credit to our sales team,”
he added, to find markets for the company’s lumber.
The covid pandemic also impacted operations of suppliers and delayed the scheduled delivery of some key components, such as high voltage electrical equipment and the overhead crane for the log yard.
The mill is processing 100 percent loblolly pine, which is abundant in natural stands as well as plantation forests in the region. The mill takes tree-length wood up to 20 inches
One of the company’s three Deltech continuous lumber kilns. Lumber on the right is slowly exiting the kiln while the batch on the left is entering. All production is kiln-dried and sold S4S.
BID Group Becomes Comact
BID Group, a leader in the wood processing industry for over a century and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, announced its new identity as Comact, one of its original equipment manufacturer brands.
The BID Group along with its individual brands – Deltech, Miller, MoCo, PHL and the original Comact – will now operate under the new Comact brand.
Comact has been instrumental in transforming the wood products industry. It has consistently invested in research and development, addressed customer challenges, and
adapted to their evolving needs. Through strategic alliances and acquisitions of leading brands, Comact has established itself as a world-class leader and pioneer renowned for its high-performance technology and equipment and its strong customer engagement.
“The decision to transition to Comact aligns with our strategic plan to expand as a high-tech original equipment manufacturer with key customers worldwide,” said Alistair Cook, president and CEO.
He added, “We are reaffirming our commitment to being the premier OEM in the
industry by delivering cutting-edge technologies, world-class project services, and unparalleled dedication—qualities that have cemented Comact’s reputation as a market leader in high-performance, innovative solutions.”
As Comact, the company will continue to focus on what matters most to its clients: optimizing operational performance, leveraging advanced technologies, and delivering strong field support. Its comprehensive project services include construction and installation.
For more information, visit www.comact. com.
in diameter and down to 6 inches at the top. Logging contractors are used to harvest trees on company-owed stumpage or timberland. At full production, about 20-30 percent of raw material is expected to be generated from Roseburg holdings and the remainder from ‘gate logs’ purchased from other logging contractors. Roseburg foresters manage the company’s timberlands.
All the company’s production is kilndried in three Deltech continuous lumber kilns supplied by Comact. Each kiln can dry about 100 million board feet of lumber annually. All production is sold S4S, surfaced in its planer mill operations.
The mill’s production is sold to lumber treating businesses, home centers, and secondary manufacturing markets. In the long term, Reed believes the leading market will be treating companies and professional building materials dealers.
The mill manufactures all dimension lumber, 2-inch boards in increments ranging from 8-20 feet and 4 inches to 12 inches wide. It can also cut studs, 1-inch lumber and 4x4 timbers. The leading products, depending on market conditions, are 2x4 and 2x12.
The mill’s operations are highly automated, noted Reed. In fact, only three employees
are needed to oversee the automated controls, from log infeed to the trimmer and sorter, although a small group of employees is stationed at key points to monitor processes and help clean up debris. It took time to train workers on the automated systems. “It’s a big learning curve to overcome,” said Reed.
In the yard logs are unloaded from trucks with either the Konecranes 32-ton radial crane or a Cat 988 large wheel loader and
put in inventory. Either can be used to load logs onto the infeed deck that feeds them to a Comact single ring debarker. After debarking the logs go to a Comact four-saw merchandising system equipped with 72-inch circular saws. The merchandised logs are kicked off and segregated onto one of two decks, depending on diameter.
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Logs are unloaded from trucks with either the Konecranes radial crane or Cat wheel loaders.
(continued from page 11)
Primary breakdown is done by the Comact Optimized Length Infeed system. The sharp chain infeed secures the log for scanning, and the system adjusts the log for skew and slew as well as positioning the cutting tools. Chipping heads open two sides of the log, and circular quad saws remove jacket boards from the two sides. The two-sided cant feeds directly into a canter-chipper that opens the top and bottom faces to finish the profile of the cant before it enters a gang saw.
The boards are optimized by the Comact TrimExpert and trimmed, then collected in a 75-bin sorting system. Boards are conveyed to a MoCo stacker that stacks them automatically in layers with sticks for kiln-drying.
The planer operations are on the ground floor of the mill, under the other mill equipment. A tilt-hoist removes the sticks and the lumber is surfaced on four sides by a Miller planer.
Logs are scanned and optimized by Comact technology prior to primary breakdown and material is subsequently scanned and optimized at each major machine center. All log, lumber, and residual conveying and
material handling equipment also was supplied by Comact. Lumber strapping equipment was supplied by Signode.
It is the first time that Roseburg has turned to Comact for such a turn-key project, although it has Comact equipment at its mill in Dillard, Oregon.
The mill produces four types of residuals – bark, green chips, sawdust, and dry shavings. There are markets for all of them – nearby paper mills and pellet mills, landscape businesses and contractors, and farmers, among others.
The mill has three open sheds, including two for storing rough dry lumber. Finished lumber is stored under 100,000 square feet of roof. The property has rail service for shipping.
Roseburg has 13 manufacturing facilities in North America, including the country’s second largest short lumber stud mill in Dillard, Oregon. The South Carolina mill, which manufactures engineered wood products, opened in 2020. The Arkansas plant, which manufactures medium density fiberboard, was acquired in 2018.
Founded in 1936, Roseburg Forest Products is a privately-owned company and
one of North America’s leading producers of particleboard, medium density fiberboard and thermally fused laminates. Roseburg is also a major manufacturer of softwood and hardwood plywood, lumber, LVL and I-joists. The company owns and sustainably manages more than 600,000 acres of timberland in Oregon, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as an export wood chip terminal facility in Coos Bay, Oregon. Roseburg products are shipped throughout North America and the Pacific Rim.
“Something that is very important to our organization is our team members,” said Reed. The mill location was selected in large part because of the community and its people, he said. “When you look at our team, I’m very proud of them.” People were hired based on “fit,” and not just work experience. Roseburg looks for three attributes in candidates, he added: “Are they hungry, humble, and smart – do they work well with other people.”
“Our team members show up to work every day and do their jobs in a professional environment and do so in a professional manner. We’re team members working toward a common goal.”
MoCo stacker collects boards and stacks them automatically in layers with sticks for kiln-drying.
Pacific Logging Conference
Planned Nov. 2-6
in Hawaii
Registration is underway for the Pacific Logging Conference to be held at the Kauai Beach Resort on the Hawaiian island of Kuai Nov. 3-6. The island has areas of tropical forest, and you may recognize portions that were used for filming Jurassic Park.
To register, book a room and download the agenda visit the PLC website at www. pacificloggincongress.org.
Montana Loggers Set Board Meeting, Party
This year’s optional outing is a Hawaiian luau. The night of Polynesian entertainment will include a show, food and drink.
TimberWest Welcomes New Member of Team
Anthony and Hannah Robinson, owners of TimberWest, are happy to welcome a baby boy, Ari Willis Robinson, to their family. He was born July 30, weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces. The family is doing well as baby Ari keeps his parents busy. Be sure to drop by the TimberWest booth at the Oregon Logging Conference in February to meet the new addition.
The Montana Logging Association will hold its winter board meeting and Christmas party Dec. 6-7.
The event will be held at Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish.
For more information, visit the association website at www.logging.org.
AOL Event Raises Funds
Associated Oregon Loggers held its first annual sporting clays fundraiser to benefit its political action committee. The event, held at Mid-Valley Clays in Gervais, raised $4,507.
Six sponsors covered the administrative expenses for the event.
AOL has raised $24,446, or 61 percent of its goal, for the political action committee.
Idaho Loggers Name Edmunson to Post
The board of directors of Associated Logging Contractors has appointed former state Rep. Clete Edmunson to be executive director of the Idaho trade organization. He began his duties in September.
Edmunson grew up in a logging family as his father worked in camps in Idaho and Oregon, and he joined his father and brother in logging in southwest Idaho. He eventually became a teacher and school administrator.
Edmunson was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 2002 and served
for three terms, six years, then worked with the governor’s office and staff.
Shawn Keogh, the ALC’s current executive director, will work alongside Edmunson through the end of the year during a transition period.
Oregon Logging Conference Is Scheduled for Feb. 20-22
The 87th annual Oregon Logging Conference, featuring exhibits of heavy equipment for logging, construction, and trucking, will be held at the Lane Events Center in Eugene, Oregon, Feb. 20-22.
The three day-event includes speakers and seminars, social events, a log loader contest, scholarship program auction, wood carving event, and more. The last day of the event is Family Day.
For more information or to register, visit the OLC website at www.oregonloggingconference.com.
Associated Oregon Loggers will hold its 25th annual safety conference Nov. 2. Keynote speaker will be Syd Muzzy.
The event will be held at the Best Western Premier Boulder Falls Inn in Lebanon. For information about the hotel accommodations, visit www.boulderfallsinn.com.
There is an $80 discount for registering prior to Oct. 6.
For more information about the conference, email David Grim at dgrim@oregonloggers.org or call (503) 364-1330.
Foundation Hands Out Record Scholarships
The Pacific Forest Foundation awarded a record $36,500 to 2024-25 scholars.
The funds will help students from diesel engine repair to forest management. Award winners this year come from two countries, seven states and one from the military academy.
The foundation, an affiliate of the Pacific Logging Conference, also provided two technical scholarships.
Idaho Rancher Restoring the Land and the Forest
Finds Tajfun Firewood Processor, Equipment a Good Fit for Niche Logging Operations
By Tim Cox, Editor
MOSCOW, Idaho – Dave
Howell has a vision for his semiretirement. His vision is for assembling tracts of land to establish a working ranch, and managing and improving the timber land on the ranch to grow healthy forests and create beneficial wildlife habitat.
It’s an undertaking that involves some small-scale logging operations, and he’s been able to see his vision come to fruition with
the aid of Tajfun equipment. Howell put the Tajfun equipment to work on his ranch, and his ranch crew also does small-scale logging work for neighbors.
Tajfun, a European manufacturer with a U.S. affiliate headquartered in Blaine, Washington, makes small-scale logging equipment primarily designed to work with farm tractor PTO. Howell has several pieces of Tajfun equipment: a self-loading forestry trailer, a log skidding winch, and a firewood processor. The trailer and winch are powered by a tractor while the firewood processor is a
stand-alone machine powered by a gasoline engine.
Howell’s property, Rock Creek Ranch, is located near Moscow, Idaho, a community whose boundary includes the state line with Washington. He has always made his home in the region, growing up in Lewiston, about 30 minutes south.
Howell, 60, is a machinist by trade and a full-blown entrepreneur. He learned the machinist trade and bought the company he worked for when he was only 25, and he grew the business, which manufactured
Cutting and splitting firewood with a Tajfun RCA PRO 500 firewood processor. This model runs on a Kohler gasoline engine and also can be powered by a tractor PTO.
components for the ammunition industry – commercial or sporting ammunition, not military. Over the years he consulted for ammunition businesses in other countries, helping them develop solutions for their own manufacturing operations. He did considerable business in southeastern Europe among the Baltic nations – all of it nonmilitary. Eventually he started his own business – Freedom Munition – to manufacture ammunition.
Howell sold Freedom Munitions in 2022; it was the fourth-largest sporting ammunition business at the time of the sale. Howell still does consulting for ammunition business in the U.S. and abroad. Beside owning and developing his ranch, he is a real estate developer. He is still “very busy” although he has “a lot less headaches.”
His earliest work experience actually was forestry-related. The son of a teacher who had summers off, his father made sure his boys had plenty of hard work to keep them busy in the hot months of the year – bailing hay, cutting and splitting firewood, and so on.
“It taught us work ethic, how to deal with people, how to sell,” recalled Howell. In a rural area with people few and far between, treating people right and word-of-mouth reputation and sales were important. “I learned that from my father at an early age.”
He did some work for logging contractors, too. “I got a pretty well-rounded experience on the forestry side,” he said, for a few summers in his late teens.
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Ready to get a log out of the woods with the Tajfun 85 AHK skidding winch. The winch attaches to the tractor via 3-point hitch.
(continued from page 17)
Selling his business provided him with the capital to do real estate development and also do some things with his father, Bob, now 82, “adding spice to his later years in life.”
Howell bought a 330-acre ranch and has been buying more tracts to expand it and now owns 920 acres. The original property has about 6 million board feet of timberland and agricultural acreage. The timberland needs to be managed. The previous owner “pretty much left it to grow,” said Howell.
“I’m somewhat of a conservationist,” said Howell, distinguishing himself from
environmentalists. His overall goal is to manage the land for forestry, wildlife and agriculture while preserving its pristine open vistas.
“I am definitely pro-timber harvesting and pro-timber management,” said Howell. “Management of timberland is important for the health of the forest and fire management.”
The elevation of the ranch land is varied, averaging about 2-3,000 feet. The forests have abundant softwood trees common to the Northwest – fir, pine, Western cedar, Western larch, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine. It is laced with natural
springs and contains the head of Rock Creek. The region between Spokane, Washington, and Lewiston, Idaho, includes a lot of land devoted to growing wheat, and there are mountains in the middle of it.
His initial acquaintance with Tajfun came through his initial acquisition of the 330 acres. The previous owner had purchased a Tajfun forwarder-trailer, and it was included in the deal when Howell bought the property. In fact, the trailer was still at the dealer, Adams Tractor in Spokane, Washington, so
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Dave Howell, owner of Rock Creek Ranch, is using Tajfun equipment for small-scale logging projects on his land and to do work for neighbors. Firewood provides a revenue stream for the ranch.
Features:
» Towable and track units ranging from 20” to 36” diameter capacity.
» Effectively pull and compress material increasing feeding efficiency.
» Fully load chip vans to their maximum capacity reducing transportation costs.
» 5 year “GUTS” warranty on fabricated components of feed system and drum.
» Supported by a dedicated dealer network.
MODEL 3090
25” Capacity Whole Tree Chipper
Loading logs onto the Tajfun Gap 110 forestry trailer. The loader, powered by the tractor, can lift up to 3,500 pounds at 10 feet and 1,500 pounds at 23 feet, maximum extension.
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it was brand new. The purchase also included the owner’s used Case 90 hp farm tractor.
Howell was in touch with the dealership and also learned about the Intermountain Logging Conference in Spokane in April.
firewood processor at the event. “I got to thinking about it,” he recalled, and looked at videos of equipment on the Tajfun website, and thought how he could integrate firewood production as part of the ranch operations to help support it. Howell attended the conference to see the equipment perform.
He bought the demo model at the
conference on sight as well as a Tajfun winch for the tractor. “I thought, well, there’s going to be a lot of maintenance logging to improve the ranch, and I have a lot of neighbors who have the same kind of need…I’ll buy some of this forestry equipment and see where it leads me.”
Howell bought a Tajfun RCA PRO 500
firewood processor, mounted on a trailer with a live deck. It is powered by a Kohler 38 hp gasoline engine. It also can be powered by a 40 hp tractor PTO.
His Tajfun 85 AHK skidding winch connects to the tractor via a 3-point hitch. “It’s more than a winch,” said Howell. “It’s a full log skidding platform…It works fantastic. Their winches are incredible. You can tell it’s the foundation of their product line.”
In addition, he has the Tajfun Gap 110 forestry trailer.
The Tajfun RCA PRO 500 firewood processor, which uses a bar saw for bucking, can produce up to four cords of firewood per hour, according to Tajfun. It can process logs up to 20 inches in diameter and 19 feet long. It produces 25 tons of splitting force, and the splitter can automatically switch between two speeds, depending on the wood. It features anti-jamming technology, joystick control, and an attached conveyor that can be adjusted up or down and left or right. It takes less than 10 minutes to set up or take down the processor, according to Tajfun.
The Tajfun 85 AHK log skidding winch can pull 19,000 pounds at three feet per second. The loader on the Tajfun GAP110 forestry trailer can lift up to 3,500 pounds at 10 feet; at maximum extension, 23 feet, it can lift 1,500 pounds.
Tajfun is based in Slovenia and was founded in 1967. It has had operations in the U.S. since 2011 with headquarters in Blaine, Washington, and has dealers in the West and East. The company has a warehouse in Sutherlin, Oregon, that can ship parts overnight and also has a technical team based there that can provide field service.
(For more information about Tajfun and its products, visit www.tajfunusa.com or call (360) 306-2367.)
Europeans have been harvesting smaller timber longer than Americans, noted Howell, and the equipment manufacturers who support the industry in Europe designed and built firewood processors accordingly. “I wanted a good value but pretty refined,” and not necessarily a high-production machine, and for logs 10-20 inches in diameter.
Howell had some familiarity with other brands of firewood processors and had seen some of their product videos. “I’ve always been interested in them.” He wanted an automated firewood processor. He considers the Tajfun RCA PRO 500 “one of the best processors” for the size logs he would be using it for on the ranch.
“I like the support” he has received from Tajfun and its dealer. “They supported me well on the integration of the tractor and the trailer…I wanted a relationship with one company.”
Howell estimated the ranch employees
will produce about 250 cords of firewood per year with logs from the ranch and from clean-up logging operations for neighbors.
“Firewood is a byproduct of the saw log business,” he noted. The goal of the firewood production is simply to generate revenue to help pay the wages of the ranch manager and workers and other ranch expenses. “It does seem to be growing,” added Howell.
The niche for the forestry services his crew can provide is somewhere between a large logging contractor and a pure firewood business, observed Howell. “Our niche
is working on small private parcels and ranches.”
At the time he talked with TimberWest, his crew was working on a job to harvest 70-80 trees that were killed by pine beetle infestation. The trees are just useful for firewood. “No logger would be interested in doing that,” noted Howell. He also buys some firewood logs from loggers who do precision felling.
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At the other end of the spectrum, they can do jobs as small as a handful of trees of a premium species for a landowner who wants to sell a few thousand board feet to make some money.
“We sell ourselves on very low impact logging, which is the European style. Very low impact, low ground pressure. The way the forest should be treated, especially on these private ranches.”
Howell supplies saw logs to a small local sawmill owned by a friend. The mill also has moulding equipment and can make specialty products.
Howell’s crew – his manager and three young men who work with him – may have a few small jobs running at the same time, or some men working with the firewood processor in the wood yard and others on a logging job.
The mobility of the Tajfun firewood processor is a big advantage, noted Howell. “It can be set up right on the landing of a logging job. We don’t have to transport logs from the landing to our wood yard. That cuts out a bunch of the cost because it reduces handling and the need for more equipment and other costs to move the logs.” The
portability of the machine was a factor in his decision when he saw it at the conference.
Howell’s crew has been working with another logger who is doing thinning and a clear-cut recommended by a forester on a small portion of a ranch. The 11-acre cut did not have enough saw logs to make it profitable for a logging contractor. With the aid of a federal grant to the landowner, Howell can use about half the logs for firewood.
The firewood processor was set up at the landing. Howell’s crew is equipped with a Cat track skidsteer with a grapple attachment. As logs are skidded to the landing, the Cat can pick out the firewood logs and put them on the live deck of the processor. The finished firewood is dumped via conveyor directly into trailers. “We never move the log,” observed Howell. “We don’t rick (stack) the wood.”
The Tajfun equipment has met Howell’s expectations for performance. “I’ve built equipment…It’s performed well…as per specifications and is supported well by the Tajfun group.”
The dealer has been “absolutely” accessible and supportive for service. “I send a quick message on my cell phone, they call back in 30 minutes,” said Howell. The equipment has an excellent warranty, too, he said.
A dealer representative spent two days at Howell’s ranch to provide additional training after he began using the equipment. “It’s better to get your feet wet first,” he said, “then bring in the trainers.”
Howell’s goal in managing the forests and other vegetation is tied directly to his plans for managing wildlife on the property. “The primary purpose for a bigger ranch is to provide a controlled environment for increasing the age structure of wildlife on the ranch…We have lots of whitetail deer, but we want older deer.” The forestry operations will open up areas that will increase natural regeneration of browse vegetation that support deer and other wildlife. In addition to deer the ranch supports moose, elk, black bears, cougars, bobcats, and abundant turkeys. “We’re starting to get browse in some of the draws,” said Howell.
“I want to be all about sound timber management,” he added.
The other income stream for the ranch will come from farming. Howell plans to farm some of the land for hay and to lease some land to other farmers who grow wheat.
Howell has had the ranch for a little over a year. “It’s a growing and changing entity,” he said.
MACHINERY ROW
Rotochopper Finishes Facility Expansion Project
Rotochopper recently completed its newly expanded facility and marked the opening of its new research and development innovation center.
This 12,000-square-foot expansion at its Minnesota headquarters includes stateof-the-art production space, significantly increasing manufacturing capabilities, along with an office area. It also features a dedicated space for research and development.
“The new research and development space not only accelerates our innovation efforts, but also creates an environment where our team can develop fresh ideas and bring cutting-edge technologies to life,” said CEO Tosh Brinkerhoff. “This expansion aligns with our mission to continually introduce new products to the market, helping our customers become more productive and profitable.”
Rotochopper designs, builds, and supports a complete line of horizontal grinders, wood chip processors, shredders, screening equipment, conveyors, and mobile baggers.
Weyerhaeuser, Nature Group Plan Collaboration on Climate
Weyerhaeuser Company and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced a multiyear collaboration to further scientific understanding of how forests and forest products contribute to climate mitigation.
The joint effort brings together one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands with one of the world’s largest conservation organizations to increase the positive impact of forests in mitigating climate change.
TNC pioneered research quantifying nature’s full ability to absorb and store carbon and provide a scalable and readily available opportunity to mitigate climate change.
These natural climate solutions can help protect, better manage and restore forests and other ecosystems to reduce or absorb greenhouse gasses.
“We’re excited to be supporting TNC’s important work and look forward to collaborating on science-based initiatives that increase the contributions of forests as natural climate solutions,” said Ara Erickson, Weyerhaeuser vice president of corporate sustainability, “while also benefiting the environment and the people and communities who rely on these ecosystems.”
Weyerhaeuser and TNC will collaborate on forest research; implement standards and frameworks for greenhouse gas accounting; support the development of improved carbon project methodologies; and help shape strategies that accelerate the adoption of climate-smart forestry practices worldwide, including expansion and refinement of existing forest-based climate solutions, and developing new programs that incorporate a wider set of potential practices, geographies and forest types.
Hampton Lumber Endows Local YMCA
Hampton Lumber announced the establishment of a $200,000 endowment with the Tillamook County Family YMCA.
The endowment will be used to subsidize the fees associated with youth sports programs and the direct costs of uniforms, tournament fees, sports equipment or other charges.
With this donation, Hampton aims to reduce the cost burden on families and make it easier for children in the community to participate in athletic programs, develop skills, build friendships, and stay active.
“We’re excited to partner with the local YMCA to help more families access these
programs and ensure that cost is not a barrier to participation,” said Hampton Lumber mill manager Ryan Pettit.
Hampton has operated a sawmill in Tillamook since 1986. As a longstanding member of the Tillamook community, Hampton Lumber recognizes the importance of youth sports in fostering teamwork, discipline, and healthy lifestyles.
Con-Vey Unveils New Brand and Website
Con-Vey, a leader in industrial automation and manufacturing solutions, launched its new brand and website. The changes reflect the company’s commitment to innovation.
Con-Vey, based in Oregon and whose material handling solutions include equipment for the forest products industry, evolved and centered its brand around the company’s mission of Velocity, which is prominently represented in the website’s engaging content and visuals – see www. con-vey.com.
The new visual identity and company voice emphasize a swift and thoughtful approach to client collaborations and market leadership, highlighting durable partnerships built with clients over the years.
It also demonstrates the latest advancements and technologies in Con-Vey’s offerings, and showcases a unique way of guiding projects that prioritizes client goals and successful outcomes.
“Since our inception in 1946, Con-Vey has continually evolved to better serve our clients and drive innovation in the industry,” said Dave Larecy, president and CEO. “While our brand is new, our commitment to building lasting solutions with our clients remains unchanged.”
Oregon Contract Fellers Look to Winch-Assist for Operations
Armstrong Contract Cutting Using First TimberMAX T24HDX Traction Winch
Armstrong Contract Cutting invested in a TimberMAX T24HDX traction winch, purchasing the first one ever produced, from Papé Machinery. They mount it on one of their three John Deere 959M track feller bunchers.
By Dawn Killough
SWEET HOME, Oregon –
For Mark Armstrong and his son, Ty, of Armstrong Contract Cutting, the steep, forested slopes of Oregon present constant challenges. This year, they sought a better way to safely tether their felling equipment on the toughest terrain. The solution came in the form of the TimberMAX traction winch, a state-of-theart tool that has transformed their ability to work on steep inclines and helped keep their small, family-run business competitive.
Though Armstrong Contract Cutting once employed as many as 21 people, it now operates with just three—Mark, Ty, and one employee. Much of the original workforce consisted of hand cutters, but as mechanization increased, the need for manual labor decreased. Now 67, Mark prefers to run a smaller, more streamlined company, keeping things close to home.
The Armstrongs provide felling services to larger logging outfits such as Timber Harvesting Inc. and McCollum Logging, both based in Sweet Home. Those contractors specialize in yarder logging, which often requires equipment capable of handling steep, challenging terrain. “That’s why we need the winch,” Ty explained, noting the critical role the TimberMAX now plays in their operations.
Working in the lush forests around Sweet Home — located about 50 miles southeast of Salem — the Armstrongs tackle jobs of varying sizes, ranging from 30 to 70 acres, though they’ve worked on tracts as large as 120 acres. Their usual assignments involve second-growth Douglas fir with some stands of hemlock, cedar, and noble fir. They handle both flat and steep terrain, pricing jobs primarily by board feet, though they occasionally take on hourly work when necessary.
“We still hire hand cutters from time to time,” said Ty. A contractor they work with maintains a crew of hand cutters for those spots too challenging for mechanized equipment, and they bring in extra help when required for specific jobs.
Mark’s journey into logging began when he worked for a friend’s father who owned a contract timber felling business. Armed with a McCulloch Super Pro 81 chainsaw, Mark honed his skills as a hand cutter before starting his own business in 1983. He continued hand cutting until 1996 when he invested in his first feller buncher, a TimberJack 2618; he hired his first employee the following year.
Ty joined his father in the business in 2009, and today, Ty and their employee handle the heavy equipment, while Mark manages logistics — hauling fuel, moving
equipment, and supporting the team.
The Armstrongs now operate three John Deere 959M track feller bunchers, but it’s the latest addition — a TimberMAX traction winch attached to one of their machines — that’s making all the difference. The winch’s versatility allows them to quickly switch back to felling by removing the winch-assist and reinstalling the bunching head, giving them greater flexibility on the job. Despite being a
small operation, the Armstrongs sometimes run two or three jobs simultaneously, and the compact TimberMAX winch is easily transported to new sites when needed.
The decision to invest in a winch system came after grappling with a shortage of hand cutters and declining ‘shovel ground’ (easierto-access logging areas). Ty previously had
Feller buncher works down slope, tethered to other machine at the top with the company’s TimbereMAX traction winch.
Contractor
TimberMAX traction winch has enabled the Armstrongs to safely and productively fell timber on steep ground, allowing the small, family-run business to remain competitive.
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worked with a winch-assist while cutting for another contractor, so he had firsthand experience with its potential. After trying out a TimberMAX T20 at a demo organized by Papé Machinery in Eugene, Ty was sold on its capabilities. “They brought it out and let me use it with my machine so they could show it to some of their other customers,” he recalled. “I really liked it while I was demoing it.”
One feature that particularly impressed Ty was the remote functionality. “You can start the anchor machine from down in the cutting machine,” he noted. “It has a hand remote that manually spools line in or out without being in either one of the machines, so you can be out on the ground, and that’s really handy, too.”
After careful consideration, the Armstrongs decided to invest in the new TimberMAX T24HDX, purchasing the first one ever produced from Papé Machinery in June. The winch has quickly proven its worth, especially on steep slopes.
Their loyalty to Papé Machinery runs deep, as the Armstrongs have purchased much of their equipment from the Eugene
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location over the years. “Their sales people have always been really great to us, and the service guys are a lot of the reason why we keep going back there,” said Ty.
At the time Tye spoke with TimberWest, the Armstrongs had the TimberMAX winch tethered to one of their feller bunchers,
aiding in the delicate work of felling trees on sloped terrain.
While the Armstrongs focus exclusively on felling, their work is critical in the larger process of timber harvesting, leaving the skidding, yarding, and processing to other contractors. However, they rarely have downtime. When fire season temporarily halts logging operations, Ty shifts to
firefighting, helping cut trees to create fire lines. Mark also joins the effort with a skid steer outfitted with a water tank, hose, and pump.
Mark and his wife, Kim, are proud parents of five children and three grandchildren — two granddaughters and a grandson. Ty recently married his wife, Jordan, in June, further cementing the family’s legacy in both business and community.
Beyond the forest, Armstrong Contract Cutting is an active part of the local community, sponsoring sports teams, a local sporting dog club, and the Boys and Girls Club. They’re also members of the Associated Oregon Loggers, staying connected to the larger logging community.
TimberMAX traction winches are robust, strong, and offer precise controls, noted Mathieu Lavoie, founder and owner of the company. The winches can be readily installed on a wide range of machines. For contractors with crews working on multiple sites, a TimberMAX is portable and can be easily transported to another job and mounted on a machine. Meanwhile, the machine it was previously used on can be fitted with its original attachment to perform work. “The versatility is unmatched” said Lavoie.
Feller bunchers are a good option for a TimberMAX winch, he noted, because they have good cooling power, good hydraulic power, and they are very agile; moving and positioning the winch on its carrier machine can reduce tethering or skidding distances.
With the TimberMAX winch at the heart of their operations, the Armstrongs continue to tackle the challenges of logging, combining decades of experience with cutting-edge technology to keep their business thriving.
TimberMAX Launches Strongest Winch
TimberMAX has introduced the company’s most powerful traction-winch. The T24HDX is the newest winch-assist from TimberMAX and has 24 tons of pulling power, 4 more than the next-largest model, the T20. The T24HDX also is designed for thicker cable – up to 1-⅛-inch. And it spools more cable, 1,640 feet.
Winch systems improve productivity in areas where conventional equipment reaches its traction and safe operating limits. They also reduce soil disturbance, allowing tethered equipment to operate in areas where it normally may not be possible, and improve accessibility in heavy snow.
TimberMAX traction-winches can be
easily mounted on any excavator or similar equipment with a simple installation and remotely operated. The traction-winch can be removed to enable the machine to perform tasks in its original capacity.
TimberMAX winch systems provide traction assist, which in combination with the iWinch® Control System, allows the operator to better identify limits and dangerous work situations. The control system has a 12-inch monitor mounted in the tethered machine. It relays information to the operator for effective operation of the winch. The control system recognizes which direction the slope machine is moving and can adjust tension for uphill or downhill movement
and not moving. A camera monitors spooling on the drum.
TimberMAX offers a number of optional features, including a load cell for tension measurement, additional cameras for hazard visibility, a wireless inclinometer to measure the slope of the working machine, and a monitoring system to help detect damaged cable.
TimberMAX is based in Quebec City and has operations both in the U.S. and Europe. Its U.S. affiliate, TimberMAXUSA, is based in Portland, Oregon.
(For more information, visit www. timbermaxusa.com.)
The T24HDX is the newest and most powerful traction winch from TimberMAX. It also is designed for thicker cable and spools more cable.
Isiah Thompson
Tigercat machines mulching on flat terrain in the distance. This was a 1,400-acre burn restoration project, preparing the site for replanting.
By Mary Bullwinkel
FALL RIVER MILLS,
California
– Thompson Land Management is one of the forestry companies doing the critical work of helping to prevent the spread of wildfires as well as restoring burned land so it can be planted again to forest. A new TimberPro machine is helping the company tackle the specialty work.
Thompson Land Management provides fire-related forestry services, fire prevention and burn restoration projects. Seventy-five percent of his company’s work is fire prevention and 25 percent is burn restoration, according to company owner Isiah Thompson, who started the business in 2019.
The business is based in the small, rural northern California town of Fall River Mills, which is approximately between the ShastaTrinity National Forest and the Lassen National Forest. The company also has a larger office, shop, and yard in Redding, about 70 miles southwest.
Thompson Land Management has seven to 10 employees, depending on the season. The company usually is performing about three jobs at the same time, with one crew on each project with two to four machines. Thompson also typically subcontracts one to five other machines – grapple-piling material or performing mastication – depending on the season and how much work he has. Thompson, 28, grew up in northern
California. He studied construction management at Chico State University and worked in the construction trade until 2017 when he went to work for his uncle in New Mexico. His uncle’s business, Forest Fitness, was doing much of the same work that Thompson Land Management is doing now. Thompson managed the mastication operations. He decided to move back to northern California and start his business in 2019.
Thompson Land Management specializes in all types of forestry mastication, including right-of-way vegetation removal, roadway clearing, fuel breaks, and habitat
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Company’s newest machine is this TimberPro 745D with Quadco mulching attachment. Leveling machine is shown helping create a fire break.
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restoration work. It also can provide other forestry and land maintenance services, such as brush clearing, creating open spaces to defend against fire, habitat restoration, burn zone restoration, piling wood debris and logging slash, chipping, excavation and road construction, and consulting.
For both pre- and post-fire work, the company’s equipment is used mainly for masticating or mulching existing vegetation or debris. The grindings normally are left in place to decompose and return nutrients to the soil. The land is healthier and more fire-resistant.
The company’s newest machine is a TimberPro 745D track carrier, which has leveling capability. The TimberPro, purchased from Bejac Corp. through its Anderson location, is paired with a Quadco mulching head. It is used for mulching work on steep ground and for grapple piling debris. It is a very productive machine, said Thompson.
The TimberPro D series machines, available with or without cab leveling, are powered by a Cummins L9 Performance Series engine, either 338 or 350 hp; the engine
has increased fuel economy and longer maintenance intervals. It also contains an EGR-free architecture and compact SingleModule™ aftertreatment system. With the smaller emissions components, it meets all Tier 4 Final requirements yet boasts increased horsepower and torque rating. The machines have almost zero tail swing.
The TimberPro D series machines feature a larger cab with improved visibility both to the front and on the boom side. They have high output LED lighting for visibility at night. A digital climate control system keeps the cab temperature steady and comfortable.
“We bought our most recent TimberPro to add capacity,” said Thompson. It features TimberPro’s new universal hydraulic system. “It allows the 145cc pump to combine flow with the 45cc disc saw pump when a mulcher attachment is on to push a total of 121 gallons per minute to the head for more power.”
Thompson has purchased most of his equipment from Bejac’s Anderson dealership and dealt with sales representative Kevin Broderick. “They have been great and responsive,” he said, when the company needs support or service. “We sometimes use Papé as well for service calls or maintenance that we don’t do ourselves.”
For masticating the company also has three TimberPro 735C track carriers with FAE mulching attachments, two Tigercat M726G mulcher carriers with Tigercat mulching heads, and a Cat 299D2 skidsteer with a Cat mulcher. The mulching attachments on the TimberPro machines are switched out with Rotobec grapples when they are used for piling debris. The company has another machine it uses for grapple piling, a Link-Belt 245 excavator. Other equipment includes a Case 1150 bulldozer and a Cat 518 skidder. A Kenworth T800 tractor with a Murray low-bed trailer is used for transporting equipment. The crews also have fully equipped company pickup trucks.
Thompson Land Management also has three Polaris Ranger UTVs (utility task vehicle, essentially a side-by-side all terrain vehicle) with Tri-Max CAFS fire suppression systems. The equipment is required on some jobs. The company occasionally does firefighting with CalFire, primarily mulching fire lines and fire breaks ahead of a forest fire.
The Tri-Max systems have 30-gallon tanks of foam, which is the equivalent
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Cat 299D2 skidsteer with Cat mulching attachment. The small skidsteer is effective at mulching but also preventing damage to residual trees.
Above and below, company has two of these Tigercat M762G purpose-built mulcher carriers. An optional multi-function hydraulic system and quick-attach boom adapter converts the M726G to a feller buncher for added versatility.
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of 350-500 gallons of water. The Polaris Rangers provide better access to fires than a water tender.
“Every job presents unique challenges,” observed Thompson. “A significant portion of our work focuses on fire prevention clearing, which typically involves mulching trees up to 14 inches in diameter, along with brush. By removing ladder fuels and understory vegetation, we help prevent fires from reaching the canopy.” The company also specializes in mulching areas that have been burned in order to prepare it for replanting.
“We have a very diverse fleet of machinery,” added Thompson, “and we know what the right combination is for every job we do. We know exactly what the landowner needs to get the job done, and we know how to set a schedule so it gets done in a timely manner and produces a quality product.”
Job pricing is based on numerous factors, including location, number of acres and terrain, the type, size and thickness of the vegetation, the presence of rock, the overall duration of the project, and whether the company is mulching or grapple-piling. Specifications for the project and the finished product also
are factors. “We engage in a range of RFPs,” said Thompson, “from low-bid to best-value proposals, and we’re fortunate to receive a significant amount of sole-sourced work.”
The Tigercat M726G mulchers are very effective in flat, open areas and in bigger burned timber. They can cover a lot of ground quickly and do a quality job.
The Tigercat M726G is a purpose-built mulcher carrier. Powered by a Tigercat 340 hp engine, the machine is equipped with a boom float system so the mulching attachment automatically follows the contour of the terrain. An optional multi-function hydraulic system and quick-attach boom adapter converts the M726G to a feller buncher for added versatility.
The Cat 299D2 skidsteer is effective on both flat, open ground as well as moderately sloping terrain. With its compact size it is used in dense areas to prevent scarring residual trees.
Thompson works for a variety of clients, including local non-profit organizations, private landowners and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. He also has a number of what he calls “sole source” clients, meaning the landowner comes directly to his company for services. Clients include Sierra Pacific Industries, WM Beaty & Associates.
“We’ve become an established enough company…which means the organizations know we do quality work, and they enjoy working with us, and know we won’t cause them any problems or issues,” Thompson said. “They also know we will get the work done at a reasonable price.”
Thompson Land Management has also built a win-win working relationship with logging contractors who work with the company on some jobs. “It enables us to provide quality opportunities to other skilled contractors thanks to our strong reputation. It keeps them going, and it keeps us from cutting each other’s throats trying to get the same work.”
“Our goal is to focus on our areas of expertise while leveraging their specialized skills,” said Thompson. “This approach allows us to bid on the project while the logging team handles tasks like biomass processing, timber removal, and chipping.” Teaming with other contractors “ensures that each aspect of the job is managed by professionals best suited for the work.”
The company’s operations manager is Clay Brock, who has experience in timber sales, marking, water course flagging, timber cruising, equipment operation, and mechanical repair. Thompson views him as a partner. “He knows everything about the company,” he said. “I don’t make any decisions without running it by him. I trust him with my life,
and I respect the hell out of him.” He also spoke highly about his equipment operators, mechanic Rory Conlan, who also operates equipment, and business manager Tiffany Fulkerson.
Forestry mulching benefits wildlife, too, Thompson noted. “A layer of mulch on the ground can reduce soil erosion and promote the growth of new grasses and forbs.” The vegetation provides food for deer and food and cover for small game and other animals. In addition, “By clearing dense underbrush, mulching creates open spaces, allowing
sunlight to reach the forest floor. This can stimulate the growth of a diverse array of plant species that benefit herbivores and pollinators.”
Doing quality work is critical for a company’s reputation, according to Thompson, and it pays. “I think it comes down to us genuinely being good people and always taking the high road to the point that it does harm us at some point,” he said. “But I believe in karma, and I believe that if we are good people, it will always come back to us, and so far, it has.”
NEW PRODUCTS
Tigercat Offers Smaller Mulching Head for Niches
Tigercat has developed a smaller class mulching head well suited to niche applications such as fire mitigation and remediation.
Designed for the Tigercat 470 mulch carrier, the 4054-20 head provides a complete end-to-end Tigercat mulching solution for narrow swath applications and lower horsepower carriers.
The 4054-20 head has a smaller diameter drum and mulches a 79-inch swath. It is a more compact design and weighs less. Key applications include fire mitigation and remediation, as well as right-of-way and site preparation projects requiring a smaller, more agile machine.
The smaller size and lighter weight mean the head can work on carriers with less attachment power while retaining similar recovery performance to larger heads equipped on larger carriers.
Various carbide tools and hardened steel knife tools are available to suit a range of applications. The Tigercat designed bolt-on tool system is available for both the open face rotor and the feed control rotor.
The Tigercat 4054-20 mulching head offers excellent durability and reliability. Carbide welding on the skis provides extra protection from wear. The robust housing with reinforced side covers adds to the heavy duty build quality and structural integrity.
stability, flexibility, and comfort. Model BKKN100 is a light-duty cushioned and adjustable knee pad; model BKKN200 is heavy-duty protection with a hard contoured cap.
The Brass Knuckle BKBS back support offers reinforcement that can help workers avoid back injuries and fatigue in occupations that require stooping, lifting, carrying, or even holding static positions for long periods of time. These supports feature elastic suspenders to distribute body stress and tapered abdominal panels to better conform to the body.
For more information, visit www.brassknuckleprotection.com.
3-Piece Wheel Developed For Skidders, Forwarders
OTR Engineered Solutions (OTR) has introduced a 32-inch, three-piece wheel for log skidders and forwarders. The unique multi-piece design offers many benefits, including increased productivity, reduced downtime, and enhanced efficiency.
For more information, visit www.tigercat.com.
Brass Knuckle Protection Reduce Risk of Injury
Brass Knuckle ergonomic protection, including knee pads and back support, is designed to help alleviate musculoskeletal disorders resulting from risk factors at work. Risk factors include heavy lifting, bending, reaching overhead, kneeling for prolonged periods of time, pushing and pulling heavy loads, and working in awkward body postures.
Brass Knuckle knee pad solutions have excellent protection and varying degrees of
“The new three-piece wheel is a real game changer in the forestry industry,” said Tom Rizzi, president and CEO. “This solution can help customers increase their load carrying capacity while simplifying the process of changing tires in the field.”
The wheel design allows tires to slide on and off the rim when mounting and dismounting without using special equipment. It reduces downtime and also minimizes the risk of bead damage since the tire does not need to be pried over the rim.
In addition, tires with higher ply ratings can be installed to help maximize productivity. For instance, a skidder may be able to add 28,000 to 42,000 pounds of additional tire load capacity with 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of additional headroom by upgrading to higher ply tires and the OTR wheels.
The three-piece wheel parallels all aspects
of OTR’s industry-leading 32-inch single piece wheels, which have been proven in the harshest of conditions by top tier OEM customers.
The new design reduces the potential for tire indexing, or spinning, on the rim. Multiple other features are built in for improved strength, torque retention, tire sealing, and overall durability.
“There are many benefits to our threepiece wheel design. Increased load capacity, reduced indexing, and easier tire mounting and dismounting offer huge advantages in the forestry industry,” said Rizzi. “All of these individually can result in a better bottom line.”
For more information, visit www.otrwheel.com.
Diamond Mowers Offers
Options to Grind, Mulch
Diamond Mowers offers a number of equipment options for grinding and mulching wood material.
The SK Disc Mulcher Pro X is available in 48- and 60-inch cutting widths. It can slice trees and brush up to 14 inches in diameter and mulch material up to 6 inches in diameter.
The SK Disc Mulcher Belt Drive Pro X is for the heaviest-duty and volume operators to process material quickly and efficiently. The two-speed motor delivers industry-leading torque, which enables the mulcher to spool up in just 13 seconds for optimal performance and productivity while on the job.
The EX Disc Mulcher Pro X is designed to clear vegetation and debris on steep banks, along ditches, and around waterways. It can process material up to 12 inches in diameter and is available in 36- and 48-inch cutting widths.
The company also offers drum mulchers in 60- and 72-inch cutting widths that are designed to continuously mulch material up to 9 inches in diameter.
For more information about mulchers and related equipment, visit www.diamondmowers.com.
ASV Launches New Compact Track Loader
ASV, an industry-leading brand of all-purpose and all-season compact track loaders and skid steers, introduces the new generation RT-65 Posi-Track® loader, now powered by Yanmar.
The compact track loader is redesigned in every facet over its predecessor and brings numerous productivity, ease-of-use and performance benefits, especially with the inclusion of a Yanmar engine. The midsize machine is ideal for contractors and owneroperators in the landscaping and construction markets.
ASV’s RT-65 is a radial-lift machine with new hydraulics, engine, controls, wiring, pumps, hoses, frame and more. These
improvements maximize power from the compact track loader’s 67.1-horsepower Tier 4 Final Yanmar diesel engine and optional 26.7 gpm high flow.
A highly efficient hydraulic system and direct drive pumps transfer more flow and pressure directly to the attachment, resulting in a 2,000-pound rated operating capacity and 5,714-pound tipping load. Additionally, a highly efficient cooling system and optimized hydraulics allow the compact track loader to operate at 100 percent load, 100 percent of the time up to 118 degrees Fahrenheit.
For more information visit www.asvi.com.
Diamond Mowers Starts New Website
Diamond Mowers, a leading manufacturer of vegetation management attachments for tractors, skid steers, and excavators, has launched a new website and expanded its resources to better serve its customers and dealers. This move reinforces the company’s commitment to being the premier partner for land management professionals.
The company also added a new tag line to its brand: ‘Attachments that Work as Hard
as You Do,’ shifting the focus from product features to customer empowerment.
“These enhancements represent our ongoing commitment to our customers and dealers,” said Dan Stachel, executive vice president of Diamond Mowers. “We’re focused on providing the resources and support they need to succeed in their work.”
The new Diamond Mowers website showcases the company’s product offerings and serves as a hub for industry expertise and customer support. It has tools to assist in identifying the right equipment for the job, ensuring attachments are compatible with customer carriers, and providing transparency around MSRP to support the buying process.
“These new tools and resources are designed to make our customers’ and dealers’ jobs easier,” added Stachel. “We’re committed to providing not just attachments, but the support needed to maximize productivity in the field.”
The website is now live at diamondmowers.com.
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Aspen To Open Support Center in Washington
Aspen Custom Trailers plans to open a new product support center in Woodland, Washington, in November.
Aspen has been supplying heavy haul trailers to the Pacific Northwest for more than 45 years, and many trailers are still in use after decades of service.
The new product support center reflects Aspen’s commitment to bringing customers closer to its engineering and manufacturing teams.
“The Pacific Northwest region continues to be one of the strongest markets for our heavy haul trailers,” said John Zork, Aspen’s vice president. “We have been supporting these customers for decades, and now is the time to solidify our commitment and offer trailer sales, parts, service and product support from an Aspen product support center.”
More than 13,000 Aspen trailers are in service. Aspen’s trailer lineup ranges from custom designed off road forestry and
construction trailers to over the road multiaxle heavy haul transporters. Its reputation in the region was built on the Aspen 65 Ton hydraulic gooseneck low-bed trailer; hundreds of these trailers can be found today working for their owners on highways and off road.
For more information, visit www.aspentrailer.com.
NEW PRODUCTS
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Ponsse, Bailey’s Enter Into Dealer Agreement
Ponsse, the Finland manufacturer of cutto-length logging equipment, has signed a dealer agreement with Bailey’s, expanding its dealer network in California and Nevada. Bailey’s, based in Woodland, California, will focus on sales, service, and training in those states.
“The partnership with Bailey’s is an exciting opportunity for Ponsse to expand into a new market area,” said Samuel Vidgren, area manager for Ponsse USA dealers. There are a few Ponsse machines in the region already, and the company plans to grow its presence.
“It will be a long-term process,” added Vidgren, “but we believe Bailey’s is the right partner for us in the region. They are
well-connected in the local forestry industry, and as a family company, it is a great cultural match with Ponsse.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Ponsse and bring their exceptional forest machines to our customers in California,” said Nik Bailey, CEO of Bailey’s. “Ponsse’s equipment is synonymous with quality and innovation, and this partnership allows us to offer our clients the best solutions for their forestry operations.”
“This new partnership aligns with Bailey’s mission to support the forestry community by offering cutting-edge tools and equipment that enhance productivity, safety and sustainability in the field,” added Bailey.
Customers in California can access Ponsse’s complete range of products, backed by Bailey’s industry expertise and dedication to customer service.
Bailey’s plans to host a series of launch events across California for customers to learn more about Ponsse’s machinery, meet with experts, and see live demonstrations of the equipment.
Bailey’s was founded in 1975 by Bill and Judith Bailey and is now owned by the second generation – Bill’s sons, Nik and Sam.
Bailey’s started by selling chainsaws and accessories, tree care products, work clothing and other forestry equipment. Over time, it has grown into a premier supplier of forestry products in the region and also is known for its marketing catalog, which is published annually. Bailey’s expanded its product line in 2014 to include sales and servicing of industrial forestry equipment.
Kodama Introduces Autopilot To Operate Logging Machines
Kodama Systems, an innovator in forest management and wildfire mitigation technology, announced the launch of its cutting-edge machine teleoperation platform, Kodama Autopilot™, which enables remote operation of forestry equipment.
The company announced the launch at the American Loggers Council conference in Sonora, California, before a national audience of loggers and other forestry industry professionals, showcasing a significant step forward in logging efficiency and safety.
During the demonstration, a machine operator controlled a log skidder from hundreds of miles away via satellite. The Kodama team also showcased its Autopilot hardware on a 2024 Weiler S340 skidder.
With Kodama Autopilot, a forestry company employee could work from home or at an office and operate a machine remotely.
The exhibit was made possible through a strategic collaboration with Weiler Forestry, a leading equipment manufacturer based in LaGrange, Georgia. Weiler builds purposebuilt forestry machines that increase productivity and reduce operating costs.
“Weiler Forestry’s collaboration has empowered us to bring a game-changing product to the industry,” said Merritt Jenkins, CEO of Kodama. “Autopilot eliminates long commutes, improves operator safety, and reduces physical strain by enabling machines to be controlled off-site. We have been working with the logging community to develop this product over the past three years, and we’re thrilled to demonstrate our
system on a national stage.”
“We are excited to collaborate with Kodama and see our machine used for introducing this new and pioneering technology to the forest industry,” said Pat Weiler, owner and founder of Weiler Forestry. “Weiler’s history is full of engineering innovation based on customer input. Loggers are looking for safer, more productive equipment.”
The demonstration offered conference attendees a first-hand look at Kodama Autopilot, which will be available in 2025. Autopilot enables business owners to run double work shifts and opens new
employment opportunities for the next generation of loggers. Kodama plans to also introduce autonomous capabilities later in the year.
Kodama Systems, based in California, creates technology to improve the safety and productivity of forest management operations. The company’s other product is Kodama Connect, a high-speed Internet service for forestry operations.
For more information about Kodama or Kodama Autopilot, visit www.kodama.ai or email sales@kodama.ai.
November 4-6
Pacific Logging Congress Annual Meeting, Lihue, HI 360-832-1745 www.pacificloggingcongress.org
November 7-9
Tree Care Industry Expo, Baltimore, MD 603-314-5380, www.expo.tcia.org
November 11-12
Alaska Forest Association Annual Convention, Anchorage, AK 907-225-6114, www.akforest.org
Bauma Conexpo India, Shanghai, China https://www.bauma.de/en/
December 11-12
Lumber and Building Materials LBM 2024 Expo, Uncasville, CT 518-286-1010, www.lbmexpo.com
January 15-17, 2025
Association of Equipment Distributors (AED), Summit, Orlando, FL 630-574-0650, www.aednet.org
January 22-23, 2025
Mapping the Course: Timberlands, Forest Products & Fiber Issues, Portland, OR 503-226-4562, www.westernforestry.org
January 24-25, 2025
Associated Oregon Loggers Annual Meeting, Grand Ronde, OR 503-364-1330, www.oregonloggers.org
January 24-27, 2025
Western Pallet Association Annual Meeting, Rancho Mirage, CA 360-335-0208 www.westernpallet.org
Nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail (included pickup stands, trade shows, showrooms and other sources)
Where did the Northwest Forest Plan Go Wrong?
By Sydney Gleason
The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan was designed to quell the decadeslong ‘timber wars’ between loggers and environments. The plan placed 24 million acres of federal forests in Oregon, Washington, and northern California under a single management paradigm that was supposed to protect spotted owls and promote ecological, social, and economic stability for the next 100 years.
However, 30 years later it has failed to recover owl populations. Wildfires scorch northwest forests, destroying old-growth and owl habitat. And many historically timberdependent communities continue to struggle.
The intent and scale of the plan were revolutionary. “It showed a light on the fact that clearcutting old growth on public lands in the 90s and 80s was not sustainable and we needed to transition,” said Travis Joseph, president of the American Forest Resource Council, a trade group representing the timber industry.
It was also the first time a government executed land management on an ecosystems level. “[The plan] was way ahead of its time when it came to innovation, and it did a lot with not a lot of tools,” said Susan Jane Brown, chief legal counsel of Silvix Resources, a nonprofit environmental law firm.
Joseph and Brown are co-chairs of the Northwest Forest Plan advisory committee that spearheaded the recommendations for upcoming amendments. They hail from opposite sides of the aisle: Brown, the environmentalists, Joseph, the industry, but they agree that the plan needs to change.
So where did things go wrong? You can’t discuss the Northwest Forest Plan without the northern spotted owl. The spotted owl was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1990 and it became the poster child for species threatened by logging old growth. Every acre in the plan was designed to fall within spotted owl habitat.
“[The Northwest Forest Plan] was essentially developed to save the spotted owl,” said Lindsay Warness, western regional manager
of the Forest Resources Association, another industry trade group.
However, the spotted owl is still in decline. Despite prohibiting harvest on significant swaths of the owl’s territory, populations have plummeted by 65 percent since the plan was enacted. In some areas of Washington, that number is closer to 90 percent. Some of the decline is attributed to the barred owl, a larger, more aggressive species that is displacing the spotted owl. Increasing wildfires, insects, and tree disease are also to blame. It’s estimated that Oregon’s 2020 Labor Day fires burned over 560 square miles of suitable nesting and roosting habitat for the species. Forestry industry advocates are not happy about sacrificing timber land when logging is no longer the owl’s primary threat. Over the past 30 years, timber harvests on federal land have fallen 80 percent while wildfires have burned four times as many trees.
“It’s offensive to us that all this land has been put aside to save the spotted owl, and it’s still declining,” said Nick Smith, director of public affairs for the American Forest Resource Council.
The fraction of forest that is available for harvest has failed to provide a reliable timber supply. The original Northwest Forest Plan stipulated 1 billion board feet of timber a year to support rural communities. Today, less than one-tenth of that is being produced. Following mill closures and job losses in the late 90s, some timber towns successfully shifted to other revenue streams, like tourism. Yet communities like Skamania County that lack the infrastructure to diversify have been devastated.
Eighty percent of Skamania County lies within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. For centuries, timber was the lifeblood of the community. When the Northwest Forest Plan was established, that blood supply was cut off. Since 1996, the average annual harvest from the Gifford Pinchot has been less than one-third of promised quantities. Skamania has lost six of its seven mills and 85 percent of its timber jobs.
“We have struggled to figure out how to survive,” said Ann Lueders, superintendent
of Emergency Medical Response and Rescue in Skamania.
Timber towns weren’t the only communities neglected by the plan. Native tribes weren’t just left behind; they were left out. Joseph estimated that the federal government failed to consult more than 80 tribes when developing the plan. This oversight has been detrimental because Northwest forests were heavily impacted by Native American management.
“Indigenous people were out in the forest every day, so they could tell how vegetation was drying out or changing, and what techniques to apply when,” said Andrew Gray, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service.
One technique tribes employed was cultural burning. Native peoples across the country periodically set fires to the landscape to prevent larger fires and promote plant species that served their cultural practices. “Through an accumulation of history and practice, [tribes] could readily decide, ‘This is the week we need to apply fire to this stand,’ ” said Gray.
When white settlers seized the land, they prohibited cultural burns and opted to suppress fire. A century later, fire exclusion had turned Northwest forests into a matchbox: overly dense and ripe for wildfire. The NWFP failed to heed Indigenous wisdom and implement management strategies that would compensate for the damage.
The plan segmented forests into three main categories: matrix lands, late successional reserves (LSRs), and riparian reserves. The key word here is reserves. Nineteen of the 24 million acres of NWFP territory fall under the reserve category, which means they were set aside from active management to cultivate old-growth.
Joseph opposes that entire premise. “I fundamentally reject the view that human beings are not a part of the forest and should stay out of them,” said Joseph. “We are a part of these forests, and that means responsibly managing them.”
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When the Forest Service established reserves, they included the forest stands that had become dense and homogenous from fire exclusion. Now, the hands-off management approach has made those stands into a breeding ground for wildfire. As of December 2023, catastrophic wildfires had destroyed more old-growth and mature forests than were added since the Northwest Forest Plan was enacted.
“We should never have put static lines on a dynamic ecosystem,” said Joseph. “That system isn’t nimble enough to allow us to get in there and do work to protect our forest.”
And what of the other 5 million acres that aren’t in reserves? Most of it is matrix land where timber harvest – among other management activities – occurs.
Another 6 percent was dubbed adaptive management area (AMA) and set aside for scientists and foresters to test new management techniques. AMAs were an exciting innovation, but dwindling budgets caused agencies to pull the plug on the monitoring and management programs in the early
2000s. “I would really love for the AMAs to work,” Brown said, “but that ship has sailed.”
Now, most AMA forests are lumped-in with matrix. Neither environmentalists nor the forest sector approves of how matrix lands are managed. Industry representatives are concerned that matrix lands aren’t yielding the timber supply promised. For environmental groups, the controversy lies in the fact that old-growth in the matrix can still be logged. According to Joseph, policymakers believed leaving some old-growth up for grabs would facilitate the transition into a new era of sustainable logging. “The idea was, ‘Let’s throw some old-growth into the matrix and we’ll slowly cut it until it’s gone,’ ” said Joseph.
That’s not exactly what’s happened. Instead, the decision prompted more fighting and litigation. “The public wouldn’t stand for it, and the Forest Service got tired of getting sued real quickly,” said Brown. So, the agency simply stopped approving old-growth timber sales on matrix land. In response, mills have been re-tooled over the years to process smaller logs.
“I have not seen a federal timber sale allow
the harvest of a tree over 30 inches since I started at WKO,” said Garret Stump, president of High Cascade, a branch of lumber producer WKO in Carson, Washington.
“The timber owners I know are no longer interested in logging old growth,” said Brown. “They’re interested in a sustainable supply of raw product.”
The NWFP succeeded in stopping the old-growth harvest that sparked the timber wars. But environmentalists, industry, tribes and other stakeholders largely agree the plan is falling short in meeting today’s challenges. Now they are presenting their own recommendations for a plan that’s more responsive to climate change, wildfire, and other stressors that are putting the future of Northwest forests at risk. Despite their profound differences over forest management, will the committee find consensus on a path forward for the next 30 years of the Northwest Forest Plan?
(Sydney Gleason, a native of Seattle, is a student at Boston College. This past summer she served as an environmental journalism intern for Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities.)
Sawmill Worker Hurt When Handrail Collapses SAFETY ALERT
Background
An experienced sawmill employee was performing end of the day clean-up duties at his work station on a spring afternoon in the Southeast. The employee’s work station was elevated about nine feet above the ground.
Unsafe Acts and Conditions
The employee was speaking with a coworker and leaned over the safety handrail to continue their conversation.
Accident
When the employee leaned over the safety railing to speak to his co-worker, the handrail broke loose, causing him to fall to the ground.
Injury
The employee landed on both feet after falling from the elevated platform, breaking
both ankles. His co-worker provided aid and called the mill manager for further assistance. The mill manager called 911, and the victim was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and surgery.
A post-accident inspection revealed that the safety handrail had been damaged. A cant had recently struck the operator’s cab, moving it about one inch from its original position, breaking the weld and causing the handrail to separate from the cab.
Recommendations for Correction
• Never lean on or over handrails or other safety railings.
• Conduct daily pre- and post-work maintenance inspections to ensure equipment and safety mechanisms are in good working order and functioning properly.
• While it was important to inform the mill manager of the incident, this should not
delay the response of emergency services. Once 911 has been contacted, then the mill manager can be informed of the situation. It’s crucial to remember that in emergencies, every second counts.
(Source: Forest Resources Association (FRA), a national advocacy organization representing the entire wood supply chain. Visit them at www.forestresources.org.)
